Saturday, September 3, 2011

ACI 1/6 Roman Gladiator "Flamma" 12-inch Figure REVIEW II

Here's the ACI 1/6 scale Warriors Series: Gladiator of Rome "Flamma" 12-inch figure in its full glory, fully kitted out and ready for battle in the arena of ancient Rome. After having reviewed and seen pictures of the figure without its helmet and accessories (Roman shield and gladius sword) in the previous post, now we see the figure as it was meant to be, and what a fine figure it is!

This ACI Roman Gladiator "Flamma" 12-inch figure surpassed my expectations :) Sure, the head sculpt wasn't the best and could have been done better (see previous post for a cross-eyed looking Ron Parlman) but I was never going to pose and display this figure without his helmet on. With the authentic 1/6 scale Myrmillo gladiator helmet on his head and fully equipped with his curved rectangular shield (scutum) of the Roman legionary in one hand and straight-blade sword, or gladius (from which gladiators derived their name) in the other, this figure just looks AWESOME!

I still hear stories of collectors who buy the boxed figure and leave it in the box without ever opening it and playing with the figure, choosing to admire it in the tray, never taking it out at all to pose the figure and play with it. I can never understand WHY they do that as you cannot really appreciate the figure until you see it for what it is as a complete figure i.e. with all the gear and accessories. This the ACI 1/6 scale Warriors Series: Gladiator of Rome "Flamma" 12-inch figure is just such a figure - designed to be displayed! And what a stunning figure it is!!

Sure, it doesn't have a ton of accessories as the modern special forces figures but the beauty lies in its bare essentials. It looks amazingly good with what little it has and it's really a sight to behold! This is my FIRST gladiator figure and if all the other figures being produced are just as good as this one is, at this rate, it won't be my last.

The newly developed muscular body by ACI (Andrew 1.0) with well-defined torso and limbs including muscle definition, detailed skin texture with prominent blood vessels and manifest pores, has strengthened joint for stability. It looks really good too!

The murmillo (also sometimes spelled mirmillo or myrmillo, pl. murmillones) was a type of gladiator during the Roman Imperial age. He was armed like a Roman soldier, perhaps as a re-enactment of Rome's wars in Greece and the Hellenistic East. Because of that, he has a rather cool looking overlapping "foldable" armor for shoulder, upper arm, and forearm.

The cool thing is, the armor does not restrict his arm movement and the arm can still bend easily without being restricted by the armor and padded sleeve wrapped around it. And because of the stiffness of the joints, the arm will stay in position and not revert back to its former posititon due to the bulkiness of the pad and armor. That is what makes this figure GREAT for posing because it can hold its pose without any difficulty.

And the new Andrew 12-inch body looks great too, no doubt about that.

The the leather-like chest harness and torso brace are also very well produced. In the arena, the murmillo or myrmillo wore a loincloth (subligaculum), belt (cintus), very thick wrappings on the lower part of his left leg (designed to protect the top of his feet from attack and from his own shield), greaves i.e. leg armor, and carried the curved rectangular shield (scutum) of the Roman legionary for defense.

For offense, the murmillo or myrmillo had the straight-blade sword, or gladius, from which gladiators derived their name.

The distinguishing feature of the murmillo was the high crest of his helmet which, together with its broad rim, was shaped somewhat like a fish. The murmillo took his name from this fish-shaped helmet; the word comes from the Greek word for a type of saltwater fish.

The ACI 1/6 scale Authentic Myrmillo Gladiator Helmet (material PVC) comes with removable face guard and feather-like decoration. The helmet has nice details and is quite well produced too.

Scroll down for more close-up pictures and all the things that make this figure a GREAT buy and a fine addition to any 1/6 collection. It's nice to know that besides movie-related figures and military 12-inch figures (both historical and modern), there's now this particular genre as well. It is a refreshing change and an exciting new direction for this hobby and collectors alike.

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